Preview: Islanders at Ducks

Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

After having a 13-year winning streak snapped at home against one opponent, the Anaheim Ducks will face a team that has had their number of late when they host the New York Islanders on Wednesday night. The Ducks will try to rebound from a 2-0 defeat to Calgary, which had lost an NHL-record 25 consecutive games in Anaheim.

The schedule was set up for a fine start for the Ducks, who finished a Western Conference-best 29-8-4 at home last season. The Ducks have dropped two straight at Honda Center as they prepare to wind up a season-opening four-game homestand against New York, which has won the last four meetings between the clubs. The Islanders managed to snag a point in a shootout loss to St. Louis on Monday, forging a tie with a pair of goals in the final seven minutes of regulation. New York has won its last three visits to the Honda Center, including a 14-round shootout in November that set a record for the longest in franchise history.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, MSG-Plus (New York), Prime Ticket (Anaheim)

ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (1-1-1): With captain John Tavares ticketed to be a free agent after this season, general manager Garth Snow told the media that he felt “excellent” about the current state of negotiations. “I’ve said it all along, we drafted John at 18, and we think the world of him,” Snow said, per the New York Post. “We want him to retire an Islander. He’s a first-class person and a first-class player.” Tavares, who scored twice versus Buffalo on Saturday, is one goal shy of tying Bob Bourne (538) for seventh place on the team’s all-time list.

ABOUT THE DUCKS: With its lineup riddled by injuries, center Ryan Getzlaf made his season debut and was not eased into the lineup, with coach Bruce Boudreau giving his captain 22 minutes, 14 seconds of ice time. “He’s going to play himself back into game shape in a hurry if we play him 22 minutes a night,” Carlyle said. “I saw some rust in his game, specifically early, but he got a lot better as the game went on. I expect him to continue to improve.” Getzlaf’s return was tempered by another injury, this one to forward Ondrej Kase (upper body).

OVERTIME

1. Tavares has five goals and 12 points in 12 games versus Anaheim.

2. Getzlaf has five goals and 11 points in 14 contests against New York.

3. The Islanders are 0-for-10 on the power play while Anaheim is 0-for-11.